.


Tragedies are rare, but they happen,
even in small towns.

A flash of lightning that splits a 100 year old oak tree in half,
a clear day with no clouds in the sky.

A tornado that flattens the courthouse, but leaves the library intact,
not a book out of place.

A family of four, killed instantly when their car is struck by an eighteen wheeler with bad brakes,
half a mile from their home.

Or someone like Amanda.

She was the only child of a former football star and his cheerleader girlfriend.
Boys started fighting over her in middle school, men started fighting over her soon after that.
One thing led to another and three people got shot and two of them died.

Even small towns have tragedies,
she was the only one I knew who drove a convertible.